Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – Pessimists need a good kick in the can’ts. (Church signboard)

Pessimists predict outcomes that are negative even though they might hope for the better. If things work out, they’re happy. If they don’t, they’ll content themselves in the fact that their predictions were right. But that’s not a happy way to live, is it? In spite of how we might feel, we need to take a positive outlook and work hard for better results.

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18).

STOP AND THINK – Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. (Marilyn Monroe, late American actress)

Monroe would probably not be thought of as a deep thinker or philosopher, but this statement is meaningful. Disappointments in life often leave us shattered and hopeless. What we had yearned for didn’t work out; out plans fell apart. But many could testify that such failure sometimes provided an opportunity to pursue and achieve something of even greater value.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

STOP AND THINK – You have never met a mere mortal…each person is either an immortal horror or everlasting splendor. (C. S. Lewis, 20^th century British Christian apologist)

Everyone in the mass of people you may see is immortal. He or she may be a splendid example of the highest virtues of humanity. Others are tragic examples of lives poorly lived. But, in either case the Bible says they were created in the “image of God,” so they have inestimable value, and we should try to help them live as true children of God.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them (Genesis 1:27).

STOP AND THINK – Talk not of wasted affection; affection never was wasted. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19^th century American poet and educator)

Someone has said, “To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose the next best.” Perhaps Longfellow would agree. No one likes to lose, but, as in sports, playing well even in a losing cause can be fun and bring a sense of fulfillment. We never lose when we show affection, when we care for someone. Such caring is always good.

[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:7, 8).

STOP AND THINK – None of us is as smart as all of us! (Japanese Proverb)

No matter how much knowledge and experience one person may have, he or she can’t know everything. So, the simple Japanese proverb, quoted by many writers, is profound. The more input we can have from intelligent colleagues who, perhaps, have training in areas we don’t, the better the result from our mutual endeavors.

The wise listen to advice . . . Wisdom is found in those who take advice . . . Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed (Proverbs 12:15; 19:20; 15:22).

STOP AND THINK – Anger may be handled wrongly in either one of two ways: blowing up and clamming up. (Jay E. Adams, Christian author and counselor)

Do you ever get mad? How do you respond in situations that make you angry? Some of us just clam up, as Adams suggests. We just don’t want to talk about it, and we’re certainly not going to share our problem with anyone else. Others of us vent our anger and strike out at those around us. Neither response is healthy, of course. Better to learn self control.

In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry (Ephesians 4:26).

STOP AND THINK – It is the best and truest friend who honestly tells us the truth about ourselves even when he knows we shall not like it. (R. C. H. Lenski, German-American Lutheran scholar & author)

Not many people take criticism well. It hurts when someone points out our faults and mistakes. Often, it’s a close friend who lovingly corrects us. False friends are the ones who hide such truth from us and do so in order to remain in our favor. But a true friend tells us what we need to hear because it’s for our own good. Thank God for such good friends!

A friend loves at all times . . . there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother . . . Wounds from a friend can be trusted (Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 27:6).

STOP AND THINK – Affliction is one of God’s medicines! By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. (J. C. Ryle, 19^th century Anglican bishop)

No one likes to suffer. We avoid pain at almost any cost— doctors, medicine, therapy. Yet, pain can be a blessing. Without it we might not know that we’ve hurt ourselves. But difficulties also can be of value. From them we learn to be patient, to look for the lesson to be learned, or to discover the growth that we need for worthy living.

But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

STOP AND THINK – The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. (Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, mystic, and writer)

Merton continues, “Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” Whether or not “opposites attract,” as some say, it seems that many people gather around themselves those who are most like them in attitudes and values. But, true love seeks only the best for the loved one and does not want to change him or her.

What a person desires is unfailing love (Proverbs 19:22). Do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:14). Love is patient, love is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4).

STOP AND THINK – He who gives when he is asked has waited too long. (Scottish proverb)

At first reading, we might think this is a strange proverb. After all, giving is usually a good thing, isn’t it? In fact, the Bible says that if we have the ability to give to a needy person, we should do so when he or she asks. Better yet, however, is giving when we see a need or opportunity to give before we’re even asked to do so. That’s the spirit of loving kindness.

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25).

STOP AND THINK – Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on our own expectations for ourselves. (Denis Waitley, motivational speaker and author)

We often think that we are limited by external obstacles and difficulties that interfere with our plans and projects. Waitley argues, however, that the problems most often come from within. He says, “What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon.” In spite of problems from the outside, it is essential that we think realistically about our abilities and resources.

I can do all things through Him who gave me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

STOP AND THINK – If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. (Henry Ford, American industrialist)

Sometimes we worry so much about results and objectives, hungering for elusive success, that we forget what it really takes to achieve a worthy goal. Though Henry Ford was pretty much a self-made man, he did not achieve his success in making automobiles by himself. It takes a team that works together, always moving forward in sync.

The whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16).